Chicken and red wine casserole with herb dumplings

This is a super easy and tasty ‘coq au vin’ style casserole that cooks slowly until the chicken falls off the bone in a slow cooker. The herb dumplings turn it into a hearty winter dish, but you can leave this out and serve it with mashed potatoes, couscous, or rice instead.

I made this in my new Breville Multi Chef, which is a fantastic stand-alone cooking appliance. It can make risotto perfectly and generally appears to be the all-round-perfect-rice-cooker-machine. I can’t wait to get busy with recipes for these. It has a steamer basket that can steam anything imaginable in, and it’s also a slow cooker with two settings.

Low slow and high slow, so a nice crock-pot for lengthy slow cooking using smaller quantities. I opted for the high slow setting and cooked this red wine chicken casserole for a total of 2 hours 45 minutes. I love it when the meat starts falling off the bone.

* Cooks notes~ if you don’t have a Breville slow cooker / Multi Chef machine of awesomeness, then you will need to figure out either a low and slow stovetop casserole method or an in the oven, lid on method.

Check out my recipe for

To cook this in the oven, cook covered in the oven for 20 minutes, then remove and add in the bacon, onions, and mushrooms. Mix gently to combine and return the dish to the oven and continue to cook covered for a further 20 – 25 minutes.

Red wine chicken casserole with herby dumplings

A hearty red wine casserole with herby dumplings made in a slow cooker.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

• Casserole
• 8 pieces of chicken thighs and legs, with skin on
• 2 T olive oil
• 125 g streaky bacon chopped
• 10 – 12 small pickling onions peeled
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped
• I large carrot sliced
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 t dried thyme leaves
• 250 g button mushrooms bigger ones cut in half
• 2 t oregano
• Salt & ground black pepper to taste
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme
• Herby dumplings
• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• 1 T finely chopped fresh herbs parsley, thyme, chives etc
• 3 T butter melted
• ¾ cup milk

Instructions

• Heat the Breville Multi Chef to SEAR (it takes 3 minutes).
• At the same time heat the olive oil in a large non stick frying pan, and brown the chicken pieces for about 3 minutes a side and until they take on colour.
• While the chicken is browning, fry the bacon pieces in the cooking bowl for about 3 minutes until they start to go crispy. Add the small onions, chopped onions and sauté for a further 5 minutes until soft. Add the carrots, garlic and celery and fry for another minute or two.
• Stir through the flour to coat all the vegetables and then add the wine, stock, herbs, thyme stalks, and bay leaves, and bring this to the boil. At boiling point, turn the Multi Chef off and re start it setting it to SLOW COOK HIGH. Add the chicken pieces. Cook with the lid on for 40 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms, and then carry on cooking for about 2 – 2.5 hours.
• Shortly before this time, mix up the dumpling batter.
• Combine all the dry ingredients, herbs and mix. Add the milk and lightly stir to combine. Add the melted butter and lightly mix (do not over work this). Roll the dumplings into 12 – 14 small balls.
• When the casserole is ready, drop the dumplings evenly across the surface of allowing them to submerge about half way into the liquid. Adjust the temperature control again by turning it off and re starting it on SEAR. This will boosts the amount of steam in the bowl and helps the dumplings puff up and cook. Allow to steam for 15 minutes before turning the temperature back down to SLOW COOK HIGH.
• Continue cooking the casserole and dumplings for a further 5 – 10 minutes.

Notes

Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge and reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Servings: 4

PS ~ This post has been sponsored by Breville South Africa. I’m working with the Marketing team on a wonderful project to develop recipes for these incredible appliances. Yes, it’s pretty much like being in appliance heaven.

PPS ~ cleaning this cooker is an utter breeze. The inner non-stick cooking bowl just slips out and is as light as enamel. Much easier to clean than a pot.

BUY MY eBOOK COMFORT

 Find me on Instagram & Pinterest